Reports and surveys tell us that more and more young are over obsessed with fame, have little respect for the law, and are not prepared to work hard for a living. One reason for this is the apparent rise of celebrity reality shows, with Big Brother and X Factor often named as prime examples. So it is, perhaps, good to see that the X Factor is putting its foot down about contestants who have been involved in rather unsavoury behaviour.
Earlier on in the series, one member of the girl band "Hope" was asked to leave the series when it was revealed that she had an outstanding criminal conviction. At the time, I remember people speaking about how this would send a message to an enormous number of people who craved fame but who were also involved in activities on the edge of the law.
Now today it has been revealed that a 15 year old contestant called Emily Nakanda has been removed the X Factor because she has appeared in a video on Youtube in which a girl is threatened with what appears to be a weapon whilst Emily makes threats of a physical and verbal nature. This school "happy slapping" video is the sort of thing they make TV documentaries about and is probably common in school. But like the first contestant who was thrown off the show, the message it sends out to youngsters is extraordinarily strong.
To any teenage girl or boy seeking fame it reminds them that the carpet can be pulled from beneath their feet if they have done anything that might be described as illegal.
Some might argue that she is a teenage girl who made one mistake and is paying dearly for that. This may be true, but I prefer to think that this is justice for the victim, the one Emily Nakanda was threatening. The only real victim here was in the video that Emily's friends were filming being bullied. It is justice for her.
6 comments:
Lot of young criminals these days, don't you think, Nich?
Not neccessarily, but I think this will send out a message to some people and i think The X Fctor have made the right decision.
The Sun (which I normally wouldn't notice) has much to answer for here. It spent much of last week victimising the girl's mother and this week turned on her, effectively inviting other youngsters to send in stories over a period of several days.
We are talking here about a child. Emily was 12 when the video was made, and she is now just 15. She is an amateur singer - does that mean she has relinquished her right to protection as a child?
At 12 you are criminally responsible.
I'll say it again. She was not the victim here. The victim was in the video being abused.
Have you watched the video Mary, you know, the one where she violently assaults the girl. The one where she knows exactly what she is going to do. The one where she makes the comment that she's worried about getting blood on her top then attacks while her mates watch and video ?
If that had been some white girls swinging a black girl around by her hair you would have been singing a different tune. Go and have a look at the rest of her gang on sites like myspace and you'll see how stupid you look defending her.
Yes X-Factor and Emily's family made the correct decision remove Emily from this competition. There is no excuse for this sort of behaviour and if it had been the other way round it would have been a "racist attack"...Kick the cow out as she is a thug
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